VOA慢速英语2021--科学家首次发现真正“千足虫”

Scientists Find First ‘True Millipede’ in Australia

Scientists drilled a small, deep hole in the Goldfields-Esperance area of Western Australia and found a true millipede.

The word millipede means "a thousand feet," but until now, no insect had ever been found with that many legs, or feet.

The millipede in Australia had 1,306 legs.

The scientists are calling it Eumillipes persephone.

Paul Marek studies insects for Virginia Tech University. He is the lead author of a study recently published in Scientific Reports.

Marek's co-writer is Bruno Buzatto, a biologist in Perth, Australia. He called the discovery a "stunning¹ animal, a marvel² of evolution."

The name means "true thousand feet" and uses the name of Persephone, the queen of the underworld in Greek mythology³.

The scientists said one of the females had 1,306 legs. Another had 998. The males did not have as many legs. Scientists said the number of legs is not always the same because the insects molt⁴, which means to lose their outer layer as they grow. They add more legs throughout their lives.

The writers said the insects need all the legs to move through small openings in the deep soil. They live about 60 meters underground and are about 95 millimeters long with a width of less than 1 millimeter.

Until now, the longest-known millipede was from California. It had 750 legs.

Buzatto said the insect comes from a "harsh," dry area in Australia where it is hard to find any millipedes on the surface.

The millipedes do not have eyes. Instead they use touch and smell to move through their environment. They come from a species of insects that eat fungi⁵.

The Goldfields-Esperance area in Australia is known for mining the metals gold, lithium and vanadium.

Scientists say millipedes first appeared 400 million years ago.

There are about 13,000 species known.

The insects play a key role in their environments by eating plants and fungi. They leave behind sugar, carbon and nitrogen.

"These nutrients⁶ can then be used by future generations of life," Marek said.

Words in This Story

drill - v. to make a hole in something with a drill (a tool used for making holes in hard substances)

author - n. a person who has written something

stunning – adj. ideas that are believed by many people but that are not true

mythology – n. ideas that are believed by many people but that are not true

harsh – adj. severe or cruel : not kind, unpleasant

marvel – n. someone or something that is extremely good, skillful, etc. : a wonderful or marvelous person or thing

fungi – n. (plural of fungus) any one of a group of living things (such as molds, mushrooms, or yeasts) that often look like plants but have no flowers and that live on dead or decaying things

role - n. a part that someone or something has in a particular activity or situation

1 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

2 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

3 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

4 molt   

n.换毛，脱皮，换毛期

参考例句：

• The fourth time they molt,they change into pupae.换第四次皮时，它们蜕变成蛹。
• This veterinary product is very effective in preventing animal molt.这种兽药对于防治兽类掉毛很有效。

5 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》